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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23058280">hold the space (for someone like you)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sondersoflight/pseuds/sondersoflight'>sondersoflight</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Formula 1 RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Unbetaed we die like men, i don't know how to tag this except I'm Sorry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 07:01:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,539</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23058280</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sondersoflight/pseuds/sondersoflight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Like sometimes Sebastian cannot stop talking, making one dumb joke after the other as if he is trying very hard to get Lewis to laugh. And Lewis – he just laughs in something that seems extremely over the top manner. He doesn’t even think anyone is taking their ‘rivalry’ seriously at this point.<br/>It makes him feel like he is intruding in on something.<br/>(He did manage to kind of voice it to Daniel once – and his answer had been just a dumb eyebrow waggle followed by ‘Maybe you are intruding.’ Which is well, typical Dan.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lewis Hamilton/Sebastian Vettel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>256</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>hold the space (for someone like you)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i've had this in my drafts for Very Long and i had to get it out of there because it was not getting better. so anyway! i hope its remotely enjoyable. and i'm sorry but i don't speak german so sorry i used any of the terms on this wrong. i just wanted seb being an annoying little shit trying to embarrass lewis and lewis being like heart eyes. so, regular stuff.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>i.</p><p>Max hates getting podium with Lewis and Sebastian.</p><p>It’s kind of stupid. He hasn’t managed to say it out loud to anyone yet because he thinks he’ll sound fucking ridiculous. Getting a podium is literally everything he has and keeps working for so being anything else than static for being there is practically a sin. It’s not that he doesn’t like them, Sebastian is a pretty funny guy when he wants to and Lewis too. It’s the way they act around each other.</p><p>Like sometimes Sebastian cannot stop talking, making one dumb joke after the other as if he is trying very hard to get Lewis to laugh. And Lewis – he just laughs in something that seems extremely over the top manner. He doesn’t even think anyone is taking their ‘rivalry’ seriously at this point.</p><p>It makes him feel like he is intruding in on something.</p><p>(He did manage to kind of voice it to Daniel once – and his answer had been just a dumb eyebrow waggle followed by ‘Maybe you are intruding.’ Which is well, <em>typical</em> Dan.)</p><p>The next time it happens – in Hungary – he doesn’t dwell too much on it. He is exhausted from a tough race and all he wants is to get over with it as soon as possible.</p><p>Lewis seems tired too, he has downed two bottles of water and Sebastian walks in and sits down without speaking to either of them. After a couple of minutes – he starts to think he might have been imagining the whole thing.</p><p>As soon as the camera leaves the cool down room though – Sebastian gets up from the couch and walks towards Lewis, as if reaching for a water bottle, but he whispers something that Max doesn’t catch and Lewis laughs a bit, bumping their shoulders together.</p><p>Max feels oddly like a third wheel.</p><p>The moment is interrupted by someone calling them to come out. Max shoots up from his seat, not being able to leave fast enough but he does catch Sebastian’s voice floating from behind the curtains.</p><p>“After you, <em>Schatz</em>.”</p><p>Well, maybe Dan has a point for once.</p><p>ii.</p><p>Lewis keeps fiddling with his phone.</p><p>If Valtteri was the type of person to find this annoying, he would say something. The after-race briefing has been over for at least 30 minutes, everyone has left already. He stayed behind still wanting to go over some bits and he thought Lewis had the same idea, but he has been staring at his phone nonstop.</p><p>The funniest part is that – he keeps making this faces and biting the inside of his cheek as if trying to hold back a smile.</p><p>“I’m going to go.” Lewis says pushing the chair away and reaching under the table to grab his bag.</p><p>“Hot date?” Valtteri replies without moving his eyes from the screen. He is joking but he hears Lewis bang his head against the table as he scrambles to get up.</p><p>“Um, no.” Lewis says quickly. “Just going to my hotel room. To sleep. I’ll see you at the airport tomorrow.”</p><p>Valtteri moves his eyes from the screen to Lewis.</p><p>“Are you ok?”</p><p>Lewis nods and his phone that is still sitting on the tabletop vibrates. He snatches it quickly and unlocks it – and when he clicks the screen he doesn’t move the phone to his ear fast enough so an audio message starts playing from his speaker.</p><p><em>“Liebling, </em>you cannot believe those sungl-“ Lewis frantically clicks every button of the phone until the message cuts off.</p><p>Valtteri wants to laugh at how flustered Lewis looks. But he doesn’t – because he is a better person than that.  </p><p>He knows that voice though. The unmistakable German accent. He knows that word, too.</p><p>“Have fun!” He says as Lewis turns around and practically runs out of the room, waving while he moves.</p><p>The next morning, Lewis is late to the airport.</p><p>iii.</p><p>Charles cannot wait to finally be able to eat something.</p><p>Qualifying in Montreal was tough. Sebastian was ecstatic, albeit to the point of having a small outburst in the press conference after. Before moving to Ferrari he had bought into the whole Vettel-Hamilton rivalry narrative everyone seemed to be pushing.</p><p>It seemed only natural for them to dislike each other – but he was starting to believe that was not the case at all.</p><p>When he walks into the hotel dinning room he sees Sebastian sitting in one of the tables. He is the only person there – it did get quite late with the whole meeting after the race and everything. He is stirring something in a cup while he stares out of the window to the garden.</p><p>Charles walks towards the table and sits down in the chair across from his teammate, startling him.</p><p>“Sorry,” Charles mutters. “I’m starving.”</p><p>Sebastian looks at him a bit weird – but before he can open his mouth someone walks up to them from behind.</p><p>“Seb, I managed to get you that weird chocolate dessert you like so much and I got some vega-“ Lewis stops speaking as soon as he sees Charles there – Charles turns around to stare at him trying to figure out the situation.  “Um – hi Charles.”</p><p>Lewis stands for a second there – holding a cup that looks filled with some kind of mousse to the brim and a cup with something else on it and it’s only then that Charles notices that the seat he took was taken. There’s a half drank teacup on the side.</p><p>“I’m going to go,” Charles says awkwardly as he pushes the chair away.</p><p>“You said you were hungry.” Sebastian finally speaks. “Stay.”</p><p>Lewis sits down in the chair next to him and slides over the dessert and when he does Sebastian mutters something that sounds very much like <em>“Danke Süßer.”</em></p><p>Lewis smiles automatically but he goes red in the face and Charles can <em>feel </em>how he kicks Sebastian under the table. Seb smiles.</p><p>Fucking most awkward lunch of Charles’ life.</p><p>iv.</p><p>Toto can hear them before he sees them.</p><p>He likes Sebastian well enough, but he is really starting to think this is some sort of strategy from Ferrari. He doesn’t fully figured it out yet.</p><p>Lewis is laughing loudly, grabbing his sides and everything while he leans against the wall of the garage and Sebastian, standing there in his bright red suit is speaking and leaning forward his fingers locked in a circle around one of Lewis wrists.</p><p>He really doesn’t care about what his pilots get up to during their free time. He only cares if it’s somehow affecting their work which it doesn’t look like it is. <em>Yet.</em></p><p>“Lewis!” He calls out because he actually needs him for something important and has been looking for him for a couple of minutes.</p><p>Lewis turns around, smile still plastered on his face and starts walking towards him with Sebastian following close behind.</p><p>He waves at Sebastian and he nods back, pushing his sunglasses down over his nose. He stops a couple of steps before Lewis and calls out when the other one keeps walking “I’ll see you at dinner, <em>Schnucki</em>.”</p><p>Toto raises his eyebrow questioningly and the tips of Lewis ears immediately go red.</p><p>v.</p><p>Kimi likes to think everything in life needs balance.</p><p>Like how he likes racing but only because he considers it his hobby. Or how he hates the FIA gala but likes having access to free high quality alcohol for an entire night. <em>Quid pro quo</em> or something like that.</p><p>He has had a lot though, even if he has high tolerance. He’s decided he needs some air before he can resume, so he sneaks off to the garden for a couple of minutes to enjoy some peace and quiet and some fresh air.</p><p>His moment of peace is interrupted after a couple of minutes, by something that sounds suspiciously like a groan.</p><p>Alcohol apparently makes him curious because he takes a couple of steps out of the light and he spots two shadows, leaning against one of the walls. One of them looks suspiciously like Sebastian.</p><p>He hasn’t been spotted yet so he leans a bit further forward, but someone inside must walk by the curtain and move it slightly, letting a flash of light through. Kimi sees quite a bit more of Sebastian than he would have liked.</p><p>He clears his throat.</p><p>It’s hilarious how Sebastian immediately jumps back, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. It’s even funnier when Lewis steps forward.</p><p>Sebastian mutters something and immediately starts fixing his suit while Lewis looks around as if trying to spot exactly where to stand for the earth to swallow him whole.</p><p>“They are looking for you both inside.” Kimi says snickering a bit.</p><p>“Thanks Kimi.” Sebastian says, sounding anything but thankful. He finishes straightening his shirt and turns to Lewis briefly. “I’ll see you inside, <em>engel.</em>”</p><p>And he disappears through the door.</p><p>Lewis walks further into the light, still working on getting his jacket straight, looking between pleased and ready to evaporate of embarrassment.</p><p>“Seriously,” Kimi mutters “I just caught you with your hand down his pants and a nickname makes you blush?”</p><p>Lewis <em>might</em> have flipped him on while making his way back inside. </p>
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